The nationwide expansion of Harmony Korine‘s Spring Breakers meant that I had the opportunity to catch the film last night at my local theater. We’ll talk a more specifically about our coverage of the film after the jump. For now, I’d like to make a futile attempt at encapsulating my feelings on the pic in the next few sentences. There’s a lot to like about Breakers whether it be the performances (James Franco‘s especially), the music, the slick editing and use of foreshadowing, etc. Nevertheless, for me this isn’t a movie that I “liked” as much as it’s one I respect. It’s beautiful, surreal, challenging, abhorrent, and vapid all at the same time. In other words, it’s art.

I could go on for days about the pic but that’s not why we’re here. In this week’s Top 5 we’ll take a look at our Breakers coverage, some Transformers 4 plot details, Olympus Has Fallen interviews with Gerard Butler and Antoine Fuqua just to name a few, a new trailer and poster for Star Trek Into Darkness, and The Croods interviews with Nicolas Cage and more. As is standard, a brief recap and link to each awaits after the jump.

Opening this weekend is director Antoine Fuqua’s (Training Day) White House actioner Olympus Has Fallen.  The film stars Gerard Butler as a disgraced Secret Service agent called back to duty when terrorists take over the White House and capture the President (Aaron Eckhart).  The film also stars Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Robert Forster, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, and Rick Yune.  If you’ve been waiting for Butler to return to action, you’re going to be very happy watching Olympus Has Fallen.  Not only is the film a hard R for graphic violence, it features Butler kicking ass in some great action set pieces.  Watch some clips here.

During the recent New York City press junket, I got to speak with McDermott and Yune.  We talked about how the film is a hard R realistic take on what could actually happen to the White House, the way they prepared for their roles, the action scenes, how Olympus Has Fallen is a hard R with blood and guts, script changes, and future projects.  Hit the jump to watch.

FilmDistrict has released ten new clips from director Antoine Fuqua’s (Shooter) upcoming White House actioner Olympus Has Fallen.  The film stars Gerard Butler as a disgraced Secret Service agent called back to duty when terrorists take over the White House and capture the President (Aaron Eckhart).

Hit the jump to check out the clips, and click here for over 25 high-resolution images from the pic.  The film also stars Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Robert Forster, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, and Rick Yune.  Olympus Has Fallen opens on March 22nd.

FilmDistrict has released a batch of new high-resolution images from director Antoine Fuqua’s (Training Day) White House actioner Olympus Has Fallen.  The film stars Gerard Butler as a disgraced Secret Service agent called back to duty when terrorists take over the White House and capture the President (Aaron Eckhart).  The pic is one of two similarly-plotted action films that take place in and around the White House that will hit theaters this year, with the other being Roland Emmerich’s White House Down.  Thus far, this film looks like it has a slightly larger scope than Down, but we’ve yet to see a full trailer for the latter.

Hit the jump to take a look at the images.  The film also stars Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Robert Forster, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, and Rick Yune.  Olympus Has Fallen opens on March 22nd.

The official synopses for a couple of upcoming Universal Pictures films have been released.  Director Peter Cornwell’s (The Haunting in Connecticut) supernatural thriller Mercy is based on the short story of the same name by Stephen King and stars Chandler Riggs (The Walking Dead) and Joel Courtney (Super 8) as two young boys who, after moving with their mother to take care of their dying grandmother at a decrepit farmhouse, encounter a dark spirit.  Shirley Knight, Frances O’Connor, Mark Duplass, and Dylan McDermott also star in this Jason Blum-produced (Paranormal Activity) thriller.

Additionally, we’ve got an official synopsis for the action-comedy Ride Along.  Directed by Tim Story (Fantastic Four), the film stars Kevin Hart as a fast-talking aspiring police officer who must team up with his girlfriend’s brother, a hot-tempered cop (Ice Cube), to prove that he’s worthy of being her husband.  The film also stars John Leguizamo, Jay Pharoah, and Laurence Fishbourne and opens on January 17, 2014.  Hit the jump to read the full synopses.

Three new posters have been released for Antoine Fuqua’s action film Olympus Has Fallen.  The film stars Gerard Butler, who plays a disgraced Secret Service agent called back to duty when terrorists take over the White House and capture the President (Aaron Eckhart).  Olympus Has Fallen will be the first of two “agent-saves-captured-White-House” action flicks this year, and I’m putting my money on Roland Emmerich‘s movie, White House Down because Emmerich knows you have to go big, go dumb, and go fun, or go home.  Then again, last year I bet on Snow White and the Huntsman over Mirror Mirror for the Snow White movies, and the latter turned out to be the better film.

Hit the jump to check out posters for supporting cast members Angela Bassett, Dylan McDermott, and Rick Yune.  Click on the respective links for the character posters for Butler, Eckhart, and Morgan Freeman.  Olympus Has Fallen opens March 22nd.

Tonight’s episode of FX’s American Horror Story: Asylum not only wrapped up our favorite characters’ arcs, it concluded the show’s entire second season.  Things were tied in a neat little bow with massive character deaths done in the most tasteless possible way…for the most part.  After the jump, we’ll talk about how Ryan Murphy and the creative team of AHS:A explored and resolved the theme of insanity, who will return next year and just where the show might be headed for season three.

American Horror Story: Asylum stars Jessica Lange, Zachary Quinto, Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson and Lily Rabe, along with newcomers Adam Levine, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, James Cromwell, Joseph Fiennes, Chloe Sevigny, Lizzie Brochere and Clea Duvall.  Hit the jump for the recap and review of tonight’s finale, “Madness Ends” and a look back at the second season.

The first trailer for Antoine Fuqua’s Olympus Has Fallen is now available online.  In the first of two White House-centric action flicks this year, Fuqua strikes hard and fast to bring down the President of the United States and the symbolic building of his power.  At the same time, he establishes a great foundation for the protagonist’s heroic arc, which makes for a welcome return to action for star Gerard Butler.  There’s a bit of Expendables-style flair and over-the-top effects that are more in line with what we can expect from Roland Emmerich’s White House Down, but Fuqua’s pedigree of bringing out the truth in his characters gives me faith that this will be more than just “Die Hard meets Air Force One on steroids.”

Starring Aaron Eckhart, Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, Dylan McDermott and Angela Bassett, Olympus Has Fallen opens on March 22nd.  Hit the jump to check out the first trailer and poster.

We’re getting down to the wire and running out of living characters on FX’s American Horror Story: Asylum.  Tonight we bid fond farewells to three more souls: one was a surprise, two of them died a second time and one of them was simply brushed aside with nary an explanation.  This episode was also a bit more toned down than we’re used to (well, for this show anyway) so I’m expecting them to lay it all on the table in next week’s season finale.

American Horror Story: Asylum stars Jessica Lange, Zachary Quinto, Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson and Lily Rabe, along with newcomers Adam Levine, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, James Cromwell, Joseph Fiennes, Chloe Sevigny, Lizzie Brochere and Clea Duvall.  Hit the jump for the recap and review of tonight’s episode, “Continuum.”

Here are some of the latest casting additions:

• Patrick Stewart (X-Men), Carla Gugino (Night at the Museum) and Matthew Lillard (Scooby-Doo) will star in director Stephen Belber’s Match, a drama centering on an eccentric Julliard grad and a young couple who wish to interview him.
• Dylan McDermott (American Horror Story) will star in the action-thriller Freezer, directed by Mikael Salomon (Hard Rain).  The picture finds McDermott’s character locked in a freezer by Russian thugs who demand he return their missing money, which he has no knowledge of.

Hit the jump for more on each project.

With only two episodes left after tonight, it’s nice to see American Horror Story: Asylum wrapping up the myriad plotlines in favor of bringing the major arcs to a satisfying conclusion.  We’ve already said goodbye to a few of the main players but more and more characters just keep popping up.  Also returning for this episode is my favorite stand-out director of the series, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon.

American Horror Story: Asylum stars Jessica Lange, Zachary Quinto, Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson and Lily Rabe, along with newcomers Adam Levine, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, James Cromwell, Joseph Fiennes, Chloe Sevigny, Lizzie Brochere and Clea Duvall.  Hit the jump for the recap and review of tonight’s episode,”Spilt Milk.”

What better way to kick off 2013 than with a return to FX’s American Horror Story: Asylum?  Tonight’s episode spent a little bit of time getting us reacquainted with our favorite patients and caregivers of Briarcliff, but quickly got back into the crazy head games, battle between good and evil and even threw in a few surprises.  If you were sharp-eyed, you may have even picked up on a teaser about the plot line in the third season of American Horror Story. 

American Horror Story: Asylum stars Jessica Lange, Zachary Quinto, Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson and Lily Rabe, along with newcomers Adam Levine, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, James Cromwell, Joseph Fiennes, Chloe Sevigny, Lizzie Brochere and Clea Duvall.  Hit the jump for the recap and review of tonight’s episode,”The Name Game.”

Set in 1964, the FX drama series American Horror Story: Asylum takes viewers into Briarcliff, a haven for the criminally insane, ruled with an iron fist by Sister Jude (Jessica Lange), a nun with a troubled past.  Inside this locked down facility, danger lurks around every corner, whether it’s a doctor who loves to torture, flesh eating creatures in the forest, alien experimentation or the serial killer Bloody Face, and no one is safe.  From co-creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, the show also stars Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe, Zachary Quinto, James Cromwell, Joseph Fiennes and Lizzie Brochere.

During this recent interview to promote his return to the series, actor Dylan McDermott (who played Murder House patriarch Ben Harmon) talked about his new role, how his return came about, his character’s sole purpose in life, that you really need to be fearless to do some of the things that the actors have to do on the show, why he thinks the show resonates with viewers, the type of horror that appeals to him, how these characters’ storylines will be wrapped up by the end of the season, and that he’d love to return for Season 3.  In addition, he revealed he was almost on SNL last week for the Dylan McDermott or Dermot Mulroney sketch.  Check out what he had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some spoilers. 

Well, we’ve reached the mid-season finale of FX’s American Horror Story: Asylum and what a bloody and cliff-hangery way to end 2012! Not only did we get some carryover from guest star Ian McShane (who was phenomenal last week), but Frances Conroy also featured in tonight’s story. But those weren’t the biggest surprises as we were left with a shocking cliff-hanger that will have to wait until 2013 for a resolution.

American Horror Story: Asylum stars Jessica Lange, Zachary Quinto, Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson and Lily Rabe, along with newcomers Adam Levine, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, James Cromwell, Joseph Fiennes, Chloe Sevigny, Lizzie Brochere and Clea Duvall. Hit the jump for the recap and review of tonight’s episode,”The Coat Hanger.”

No one does Christmastime quite like FX’s American Horror Story: Asylum. The first season featured quite the climax with the Harmon family gathered round the Christmas tree; the feel-goods are not so joyous this time around. Featuring Ian McShane (Deadwood) as a deranged Santa Claus, tonight’s episode wasn’t just a fantastic addition to the series so far, but a stand-alone dark holiday classic.

American Horror Story: Asylum stars Jessica Lange, Zachary Quinto, Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson and Lily Rabe, along with newcomers Adam Levine, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, James Cromwell, Joseph Fiennes, Chloe Sevigny, Lizzie Brochere and Clea Duvall. Hit the jump for the recap and review of tonight’s episode, “Unholy Night.”